Prevalence and associated risk factors of hypertension in care homes of Makawanpur district, Nepal

Background: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are increasingly burdensome. Hypertension stands out as a major NCD responsible for numerous deaths and disabilities in Nepal. Various factors, socio-demographic, socio-economic, and behavioral, affect hypertension. This study aims to determine the prevalence of hypertension and identify its associated risk factors among residents of care homes in Makawanpur district. Methods: A cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted to gather data from residents in four care homes in Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan, Makawanpur district, Nepal. The care homes were selected using a census approach. Data were collected from each institution as a sample, totaling 139 individuals. A structured questionnaire, based on the NCD STEPS survey, was used along with Kobo-Toolbox for data collection. After collection, data were cleaned, sorted, coded, and decoded for analysis with SPSS software. Results: In 139 care home residents in Makawanpur district (median age of 75 years), 51.1% of the participants had hypertension. The history of smoking was strongly associated with developing high blood pressure (58.4%; p=0.03), as well as the family history of hypertension (68.6%; p<0.005), and the presence of anxious or stressful (or mental pressure) symptoms (60.5%; p=0.01). The participants who were physically active also had higher rates of having hypertension (58.7%). Conclusions: Hypertension was highly prevalent (51.1%) among elderly care home residents in Makawanpur. Smoking history, family history of hypertension, and psychological stress were significantly associated with hypertension.